Students enrolled during the emergency move to remote learning also experienced “increased lack of motivation, anxiety, stress, and isolation.” Additional concerns, including insecure housing, lack of employment opportunities, and financial instability, were identified by a recent study: Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States.

Student concerns and uncertainty about the requirements of online learning were especially prevalent. One student described her anxiety around classwork after the shift to online learning: “I am constantly on edge about coursework: Did the computer register I submitted my exam? Did I see everything the teacher posted in Moodle?  What happens if my internet goes out and I miss an assignment?” While there was a small number of students who identified some positive changes as a result of COVID-19, for the majority of students in higher education, the consequences of the pandemic made a population of young people already susceptible to mental health challenges even more vulnerable.

So what can we do? 

The results of the impact study show students who were satisfied with their university experience during the emergency response to COVID-19 cited positive feelings toward “pre-recorded videos during online course delivery, sufficient information on exams, satisfaction with teaching staff, satisfaction with websites and social media information with regular updates from the university.” These results are echoed in another survey given to students, undergraduate and graduate, at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). As reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education article Reinventing the Student Experience, on a spring 2020 survey, NYIT students were asked the question: “Thinking about your future coursework, how important is each of the following to you when learning remotely?” Their responses were as follows:

• Virtual Classroom Discussion: 80.2% or 666 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

• Regular Communications about My Performance in the Course: 90.2% or 754 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

• Professors Record and Post Lectures Accessible on the Internet: 91.8% or 769 rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

• Professors Record and Post Short Videos Accessible on the Internet: 89.6% or 749 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

• Regular Virtual Office Hours: 83.5% or 696 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

• Collaboration with Other Students: 72.9% or 608 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important

A theme that emerges from this list is that students valued communication, access, and connection in an unpredictable semester. Of course, mental health professionals at University of Michigan are the best resource for students suffering from negative psychological impacts as a result of the pandemic. Students finding it difficult to cope with increased stress and anxiety should be directed to Wolverine Wellness. But these survey results reveal the potential impact instructor actions can have on students’ ability to persist academically during challenging times. Given this, we recommend the following three action steps to mitigate academic challenges resulting from COVID-19 disruptions.

Frequent and clear communication is essential to support student learning, but even more so when students self report low levels of motivation. Simply encouraging students to reach out to you using your preferred method of communication can promote a sense of safety and connection for students. If you have given students permission to communicate with you in multiple ways, i.e. email, chat tool, posting a question on the messaging forum of an external tool, then it’s a good idea to establish a workflow for checking student communication regularly on all platforms so no student messages are missed. You can adjust the notification settings within Canvas and other tools to help you stay on top of incoming messages. If course changes are needed due to unforeseen circumstances, you can use Canvas Inbox to send messages to your whole course, to individual sections, or to individual users or use Canvas Announcements to ensure students don’t miss important changes. For students still learning remotely, responsive and substantive communication supports student success during challenging times.  For more information on strategies for communicating with remote students, visit our Teaching Remotely page. 

Make information and resources easily accessible. When designing your course, consider organizing information in chunks to eliminate unnecessary complexity. Canvas allows you to create Modules that group material and activities together so that information is organized in a logical, easy to follow format. For recommendations on organizing modules and access to Canvas templates with blank modules already created, visit our Remote Resources page. For any activity, whether face-to-face or completely online, provide clear instructions and timely feedback upon completion of the task. Ensure all content is accessible to students by housing all of your course materials in one place so that students who must be absent for an extended period retain full access to course learning opportunities. Consider using Lecture Capture, where possible, to record and post in-person lectures, not just for quarantined students, but also for students in need of greater flexibility in how they learn. Recorded lectures accommodate a range of preferences and abilities. Students can employ accessibility features such as closed captions, and adjust the pace of the lesson, to name just a few advantages.

Design social learning opportunities. As distance learning continues to be necessary for some, students may lack opportunities for simple interaction with peers. Instructors can encourage social learning in the online environment by using discussion and group-work tools. Canvas Groups, which allows students to interact on a miniature course site of their own, is available within Canvas. Students can create conferences, pages, discussion boards, and share files within the group. Using Canvas Discussions or other available discussion tools such as Yellowdig and Harmonize, students can respond to discussion prompts, participate in Q&A, and interact with their peers. Instructors can also encourage students to use video in their discussion response so that remote students can see live people and feel more connected to their classmates. It’s important that students connect with the instructor as well. Reaching out to students with low participation can prove an invaluable student intervention. Data analytics tools and gradebook features available in Canvas can highlight struggling students, and Harmonize provides an engagement dashboard, as a beta feature, to make it easier to reach out on the spot. Actively connecting with students can help alleviate the long lasting academic consequences noted in the studies above. A check in during in person office hours or virtual office hours could be just what a student needs to persist through a difficult situation.

If you would like to discuss how to best deploy these steps for your class, please feel free to reach out to the [email protected] or request a consultation here. And during this exceptionally stressful time, remember that FASCCO makes counseling help available to instructors and staff, too!